Directed By: Harold Ramis
Starring: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott
Tag line: "He's having the worst day of his life... over, and over..."
Trivia: Since this film's release, both Bill Murray and Harold Ramis have been honorary grand marshals for the Groundhog Day celebrations in Punxsutawney, PA
If I were to compile a list of Bill Murray’s best movies, Groundhog Day would be right near the top of it.
Directed by Harold Ramis, this 1993 comedy / fantasy has Murray playing Phil, an arrogant, self-centered TV weatherman who has been sent to Punxsutawney, PA to cover the Groundhog Day festivities (which occur every year on Feb 2nd).
Clearly, Phil believes this assignment is beneath his talents, and to make matters worse, a freak snowstorm rolls in, forcing him and his pretty producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell) to spend the night in Punxsutawney.
Yet as bad as this day has been, things are about to get a whole lot messier for Phil, because when he wakes up the next morning, he discovers that it’s Groundhog Day once again!
Trapped in some sort of time vortex, Phil finds himself continually re-living Groundhog Day, repeating the same experiences, meeting the same people, over and over again. He tries everything he can to break the cycle (even suicide), but to no avail.
Convinced he’ll spend eternity in Punxsutawney on Feb. 2nd, Phil begins to despair. But is fate actually giving him a chance to become a better person, forcing him re-live Groundhog Day until he finally gets it right?
A comedy / fantasy with a fascinating premise, Groundhog Day invites its audience to ask themselves, “What would I do if I were living the same day over and over again?”
A comedy / fantasy with a fascinating premise, Groundhog Day invites its audience to ask themselves, “What would I do if I were living the same day over and over again?”
Personally, if I found myself in that situation, I’d probably handle it in much the same way as Murray’s character. At first, Phil tries to make the best of his bizarre predicament. Sensing an opportunity, he approaches a pretty local girl (Marita Geraghty), asking her things like her name, what high school she went to, and who her 12th grade English teacher was.
The next time he runs into the girl, she has no memory of this exchange, allowing Phil to use what he’s learned to pretend to be a former classmate, convincing her they’ve known each other for years. Before long, the two have hooked up for the evening.
One of my favorite scenes in Groundhog Day has Phil walking off with several bags of money he’s just stolen from the back of an armored truck, doing so in the split second the guards are looking the other way (obviously, he’s been observing them for a while, allowing him to time his theft perfectly).
Phil does eventually put his selfish nature aside to start helping others; another fun sequence has him rushing across town, first rescuing a boy who has fallen out of a tree and then performing the Heimlich maneuver to save Buster (Brian Doyle-Murray) when he’s choking on his dinner.
With Groundhog Day, Murray delivers one hell of a performance, flawlessly conveying the emotional ups and downs that go hand-in-hand with such an unusual chain of events. I can’t think of another actor who could have pulled it off as well.
With Groundhog Day, Murray delivers one hell of a performance, flawlessly conveying the emotional ups and downs that go hand-in-hand with such an unusual chain of events. I can’t think of another actor who could have pulled it off as well.
As good as he was in Meatballs, Caddyshack, Stripes, and Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day features Bill Murray at his comedic best.
Nice review. You've really nailed its charms. Bill Murray is key to its rewatchability. The premise of the movie really suits his exasperated schtick. You get the feeling that without him it would have become a real cheese-fest. But, we both know if it were you stuck in that scenario, you'd finally get the chance to watch all those movies you'd been meaning to watch all those years!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work Mr. Movie Challenge...
Ramis and Murray did not talk to each other for 20 years after the movie. Apparently Murray was a real pain in the bum. Life imitating art?
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite films. From what I understand, the real inspiration for this movie was a quirky best selling novel called REPLAY.
ReplyDeleteTrue "Groundhog Day" is a shining feature of Bill Murray's comedic talents Dave!In my opinion his best role/film to date is "Lost In Translation". Bill Murray the actor given the right role can play anything the mark of a great actor!
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